Revolutionising Corporate Learning Through Metaverse

Client: HMEL | Metaverse Platform: Megaspace by ibentos | Industry: Corporate/Petroleum & Petrochemical Industry

Overview

HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL), the leader in petroleum refining, envisioned a transformative shift in how corporate learning is delivered—one that reflects their commitment to innovation, digitalisation, collaboration, and a strong focus on sustainability and inclusion. For their 4th Annual Learning Week, they set out to create an immersive virtual experience that would go far beyond traditional formats, engaging a diverse workforce in an interactive and inspiring way.

To achieve this, HMEL partnered with ibentos, a leading metaverse technology company, to build a gamified, immersive learning environment on its cutting-edge platform, MegaSpace.ai. The result was a dynamic digital ecosystem that encouraged collaborative learning, interactive participation, and aligned seamlessly with HMEL’s vision for a digitally empowered, inclusive workforce.

6 X

Participation

3 +

Active Interactions

5000 +

Learning Hours

Problem Statement

HMEL’s Learning Week, a flagship initiative designed to drive employee development, had seen consistent participation in past editions. However, the company sought a radical transformation for its fourth edition to align with its broader strategy of innovation, collaboration, and digitalization. The goal was to:

Engaging a Geographically Dispersed Workforce

Increasing engagement and participation among geographically dispersed employees

Overcoming Virtual Learning Fatigue

Creating an online immersive learning experience that could transcend the fatigue of traditional webinars

Encouraging Innovation & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration through technology

Embedding Inclusivity & Long-Term Learning Impact

Embedding values of inclusivity and sustainable learning into the overall experience

Purpose & Strategic Intent

Building on the success of the last three annual Learning Week events, HMEL Learning Week 4 – Innovation Arcade was strategically designed to enhance employee engagement and motivation to apply learning. This year’s theme aligns fully with HMEL’s focus on digitalization, innovation, and collaboration.

The initiative aimed to:

Equip employees with the mindset and tools to proactively contribute to business growth

Drive ROI- profitability, efficiency & growth- through proactive innovative actions.

Reinforce behavioral, business, and benefit-related aspects within HRM (3Bs), emphasizing inclusion

Anchor the initiative across all HMEL locations (Noida, Bathinda, and pipelines) through hybrid deployment

Deployment Methodology

The deployment was envisioned to be immersive, leveraging cutting-edge technology — most likely a metaverse platform—to deliver an experience like never before. The goal was to break away from conventional digital formats and create something bold, interactive, and futuristic. The deployment methodology included:

Integration of Gamification Mechanics

Avatars, treasure hunts, and leaderboards to make learning competitive and fun

Digital Campaigns to Maximise Participation

Innovation scavenger hunt and poster clues across offices.

Hybrid Event Execution

With a mix of in-house and external expert speakers & activations

Immersive Sessions

Keynotes, Panel Discussions, Innovation Talks, Expert Panels, Workshops & Immersive Zones

Innovation Showcases

Featuring industry collaborations, vendor kiosks and employee-led digitization stories (both virtual and in-person in BTI)

Incentives to Motivate Employees

Recognition & awards

Tech Preparedness to Ensure Seamless Employee Experience

Pre-event whitelisting, security checks, and live tech support

Integration of Gamification Mechanics – Avatars, treasure hunts, and leaderboards to make learning competitive and fun

Digital Campaigns to maximise participation – Innovation scavenger hunt and poster clues across offices.

Hybrid event execution – With a mix of in-house and external expert speakers & activations

Immersive Sessions – Keynotes, Panel Discussions, Innovation Talks, Expert Panels, Workshops & Immersive Zones

Innovation Showcases – Featuring industry collaborations, vendor kiosks and employee-led digitization stories (both virtual and in-person in BTI)

Incentives to motivate employees – Recognition & awards

Tech Preparedness to ensure seamless employee experience – Pre-event whitelisting, security checks, and live tech support

Anticipated Outcomes

For HMEL, this initiative was a proactive, organization-wide culture-influencing investment, centering on innovation and digitalization. The brand aimed to achieve three pronged benefits, generating long-term business value:

How Employees Benefit

Hands-on real-world learning
Curated exclusive industry insights on innovation
Immersive, gamified learning
Recognition and rewards
Live Exposure to cutting-edge tech

How Teams Benefit

Encourages team-based innovation
Promotes ‘Inclusion’ as a key driver of innovation
Encourages a team spirit where innovating & winning together is the norm
Strengthens cohort-based growth & innovation

How HMEL Benefits

Enables upskilling at scale
Boosts employee motivation and engagement which has proven to increase discretionary efforts
Caters to the need of future generation of employees
Fosters a culture of innovation and digital transformation through genuine collaboration to drive key business outcomes

Solution: The Innovation Arcade Metaverse Experience

To bring this vision to life, HMEL partnered with ibentos—an industry leader in immersive and event technologies—and chose MegaSpace.ai, one of the most advanced web-based metaverse platforms, as the backbone of the experience. Together, they crafted a solution that redefined digital engagement through interactivity, gamification, and innovation. Key Features of the Metaverse Experience were:

Pre-Event Immersion

A 4-day avatar-led scavenger hunt used on-site posters and metaverse clues to help employees create avatars and get familiar with the platform.

Recognition & Rewards

Acknowledging top performers.

Personalized Avatars

Avatar customisation included HMEL-branded T-shirts, reinforcing corporate identity in the virtual space.

Executive Participation

New CMD Mr. Vikas Kaushal delivered his first address to the organization through the metaverse, boosting platform acceptance.

Live Feedback Wall

Capturing real-time reactions and interactions of HMEL employees

Expert-Led Sessions

With participation from HMEL leadership, IMD Asia, LinkedIn India, and more

Interactive Kiosks

Partner showcases and employee innovation stories

Gamified Activities

Leaderboards, quizzes, rewards, and interactive challenges.

"If I were to use two words to describe the ibentos team, I’d say: tech and creativity. And when you bring both together, that’s exactly what the ibentos team was able to co-create for us."

— Rishibha Sharma, Head of Organisational Development & Diversity, HMEL

Discover the Benefits

Explore the benefits of Banking in Metaverse

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Immersive Banking Experience

The digital expert's can take up multiple roles and use various digital channels such as digital advertising, social media, to reach out to the customers.

read

Cross-Platform Accessibility

Seamless platform access to users from various devices, including desktops, mobile devices and VR headsets.

read

Digital Wallet Integration

Versatile digital wallet, allowing users to manage both real and virtual currencies, as well as digital assets and NFTs.

read

Personal Generative AI Assistant

Each customer gets assistance to an AI Assistant that guides them through banking in metaverse and offers them personalized assistance everytime.

read

Advanced Security Features

Biometric authentication, behavioral analysis and blockchain-based identity verification for a stress-free experience.

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AI Predictive Banking

AI-driven predictive analysis to offer insights into user's financial behavior and spending pattern.

Strategy Behind the Story

Theme	Sub-theme	Activity
D-7 INNOVATION SCAVENGER HUNT	Gamified Pre-Engagement	Employees used the metaverse platform to hunt for clues and score points. Physical posters with QR codes blended the real world with the virtual.
Day 1 EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES	Event Inaugural Address + Keynotes on ‘Harnessing Digital Agility in the Workplace’ & ‘Driving Digital Mindset’	Inauguration by MD & CEO, along with other leaders. Virtual quizzes and fireside chats on Innovation. Metaverse based innovation-themed quiz with live leaderboard tracking. Session by Technical Training team.
Day 2 UNLOCKING INNOVATION POTENTIAL IN ORGANISATIONS	Panel Discussions on Innovation & Digitalization + Experiential Workshops on Leveraging LinkedIn Learning & AI to drive self-learning in 2025	Panel on ‘Building a Culture of Innovation’. Workshop on creating personalized learning paths in collaboration with with LinkedIn Learning. Innovation-themed quizzes on Metaverse, with Live leaderboard tracking. Session by Technical Training team.
Day 3 LEARNING REIMAGINED – EXPERIENCE INNOVATION	Masterclass & Case Studies on ‘Innovations in Energy Transition & Digitalization’ + Learning ‘Inclusion in the Age of AI’ via innovative techniques like Theatre & Drama Collaborative Innovation	Organisation-wide masterclass. Inclusion-focused drama in collaboration with Be.artsy. Innovation-themed quizzes on Metaverse, with Live leaderboard tracking. Session by Technical Training team.
Day 4 FROM IDEAS TO IMPACT	Session on ‘Innovation Inspiration’, Celebration & Recognition with Innovation Arcade Award	Industry talk, Innovation Awards for Metaverse Leaderboard winners & most innovative employees & teams , and closing by MD/CEO.

Results: Outstanding Success

1323 Unique Users

6X Previous Participation

1,694 Selfies Shared

On Metaverse

548 Feedback Entries

100% Positive Response

827,695 Emojis Shared

To Express Appreciation

15+ Hours of LIVE Learning

From Industry Experts

100% Positive Feedback

On Metaverse Feedback Wall

"Thanks a million (about the number of emojis generated on HMEL metaverse during the week!) to you and your wonderful team who worked so hard and supported us so well during the Learning Week. All your efforts provided a seamless, enthralling, and engaging experience to our colleagues and was a true hallmark of success for the event-filled weeklong event!"

- Gopalji Mehrotra, Head of Human Resources, HMEL

Photo Gallery & User Generated Content

Learners’ Experience

"At ibentos, we are revolutionizing corporate interactions with cutting-edge technology. Large teams—often in the thousands—need to connect, learn, and celebrate together. But how do you bring thousands of people together without the limitations of physical space? The answer is metaverse technology. Traditional digital platforms still feel ‘digital’—they lack interactivity, and people feel isolated. The metaverse changes that. Employees can create avatars, see their colleagues around them, explore 3D spaces, take pictures together, chat via voice, and engage in gamified experiences. If there’s a technology that can replicate in-person interaction to the closest, it’s the metaverse. By making it web-enabled, we’ve removed complexities and turned it into a simple, engaging, and gamified experience that people love."

— Harpreet, CEO & Co-Founder, ibentos

Feedback Wall

What Made it a Game-Changer?

Best-in-class Metaverse for Learning

Highly interactive and engaging

Smooth Onboarding

Pre-event activities ensured seamless participation

Web-based Access

No additional devices or high bandwidth required

Live Dashboards

Real-time tracking of engagement

Leadership Presence

Active participation by executives enhanced credibility

Robust Support

24/7 chat and technical assistance by ibentos team, ensuring a glitch free experience.

Integrated Branding

Avatar customization with personalized HMEL logo T-shirts, making employees feel truly part of the experience.

About HMEL

HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) is a distinguished entity in India’s energy sector, committed to energizing a brighter future for millions with its superior petroleum and petrochemical products. As a established, value-driven organization, HMEL consistently sets global benchmarks, fuelling India’s growth story. Originally focused on oil refining, HMEL is now evolving into an integrated energy enterprise. The company operates the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Bathinda, Punjab, which produces high-value petroleum products with a capacity of 11.3 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).

About ibentos

ibentos is an immersive technology company that creates extraordinary digital experiences using cutting-edge technologies like the metaverse and AI. Specializing in metaverse development services, ibentos builds best metaverse platforms for experiences such as corporate learning, education, large-scale events, and digital transformation.

Solution

However, with consistent R&D and the use of AI, the ibentos metaverse team was able to address all the above challenges and create a platform that was capable of hosting the world’s biggest and most innovative convocation ceremony.

Handling Concurrency: The greatest achievement was to resolve the problem of handling high user concurrency on the metaverse. Our team was able to find apt solutions; thanks to our professional expertise in handling large-scale virtual events.
Humanized 3D Avatars: Students’ experience was personalized by using a selfie to create an avatar that had the same face as their own, fully dressed in a convocation gown and cap. These avatars could walk down the stage when their names were called, receive their diploma certificate, and bow, along with being able to clap and wave as well. These were essential in humanizing the metaverse convocation ceremony and making sure traditions were followed. This innovation would not have been possible without unwavering support from Avatar SDK before and during the event.
Extensive use of AI: The virtual convocation metaverse platform was heavily AI-driven, right from testing on the platform to making announcements, arranging voiceovers, matchmaking students with their respective names and certificates, and even avatar creation.
Enriched Interactions & Experience: The metaverse experience was further elevated by dividing students into batches as per their programs so that they could experience the ceremony with their batchmates. In addition, selfie areas were incorporated into the metaverse for the students to click selfies together and save these precious moments.
Social Sharing: Social Media Integration with the Metaverse platform enabled students to express their sense of achievement with their community by sharing their selfies on LinkedIn and Facebook directly from the platform, instantly making the metaverse convocation ceremony a hit.
Hybrid Metaverse Experience: A hybrid experience was created by incorporating the Live feed from the in-person event into the metaverse platform. A hybrid experience was created by incorporating the Live feed from the in-person event into the metaverse platform.

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